THE
CHIMING BELL.
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Now,
on the gentle breath of morn,
Once more I hear that chiming
bell,
As onward, slow, each note is borne,
Like echo’s lingering,
last farewell. [Page 212]
And still I love to hear the sound,
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Ascending
from the wide-spread vale,
Filling the spacious concave round,
Deep mellowed by the passing
gale.
And while I pause to catch each tone
That vibrates on my pensive
ear—
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The
images of days far gone,
In quick succession re-appear.
I feel, I see, I share again,
In this short hour, all
earth has given,
Of hope, of pleasure, or of pain,
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To
soothe, or cheer my soul to heaven.
But why should fairy fancy stray,
Nor leave me with my griefs
to dwell?—
My purest joys have died away,
Since first I heard that
morning bell.*
[Page 213]
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Yet, when I slumber with the dead,
Some other bard may wander
here,
To muse, like me, on prospects fled,
And all that life had rendered
dear! [Page 214]
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*
The above lines were suggested on hearing the morning
bell of the General Hospital. The General Hospital
is a very fine and a very extensive building, situated
at a short distance from Quebec, on the winding
shores of the River St. Charles. The chiming of
this bell has a most pleasing effect, when heard
at a distance on any part of the surrounding hills.
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